Broken Compass:Supernatural Prison Story 1(31)

I remembered something then, and lifting my hands I was actually surprised that no cuffs bound my wrists. Jessa followed my gaze.

"Ah yes, another nasty little surprise from that cockswabbler. Those cuffs took Louis and Tyson about eight hours to get off you and Justice. We couldn't do anything until they were removed because your essence was tied to Kristoff and we were afraid he'd do something to hurt you worse."

"Has anyone figured out why he had Justice there? She's hu-"

I was cut off by a scraping at the door. We both turned to find a tiny man standing there. He was barely five feet tall, wearing a black and white, draping robe, with a cross design on one lapel. He was definitely Asian in descent, and had an older face, looking early sixties. I wondered briefly if he was human. If he was a supernatural, he was ancient.

"Nice to see you awake, my dear." His voice was low and soothing, strumming along the wind like chords on a harp. "I wasn't sure my skills would be enough this time, but I'm glad to see that your supernatural strength is kicking in for the final healing."

My eyes fell to the scars on my thigh, a reminder me of how close I'd come to losing my life. I might never have seen Jessa again. Held my daughter. Known for sure I was true mate to Maximus.

So many things to live for. It was overwhelming.

Chan crossed the room to stand on the opposite side of my bed, his eyes also landing on the burned skin. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more to heal the physical wound. The oil destroyed all the skin and tissue there. This was the best I could do with the time I had. Continued healing will improve how it looks."

With a shake of my head I lifted my eyes and let them rest on the kindly fellow. "Please, don't apologize. This scar is nothing. As long as my baby is safe, I wouldn't care if I wore these marks all over my body." I reached out and grasped his hand and it was warm and dry. "Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for saving her."

He gave my palm a squeeze before releasing me. "You're welcome. You carry a very special child here. I was pleased that none of the oil touched her in any way. I don't know how this miracle happened, but it was a blessing for you both."

Whatever my wolf and I had done must have worked. We had stopped the oil from touching her. "What do you mean special child?" Most probably he meant the power of a Compass offspring, but the way he said it felt like something more.

Before he could answer there was another set of footsteps at the threshold to the white room. I felt the pull in my chest; warmth flooded my mind and body. I knew before I even looked up who it would be  –  Maximus Compass, in all of his beautiful glory.   





 

I couldn't stop from locking onto his face. He returned the gesture, zeroing in on me, eyes as black as pitch with a slight shine to them, the sort of darkness which would reflect its surroundings.

He didn't say a word as he stalked across the room to my side, he was dressed casually, but somehow made jeans and a long-sleeved Henley look like a million bucks. By now Jessa and the healer had disappeared. They probably just left normally and I was too entranced by Maximus to notice, but it sort of felt like they'd evaporated into the air.

When the vampire was at my side, we continued to stare, the energy between us practically humming. I might have been new to the supernatural world but I had always known this was more than normal, more than a chemical attraction or infatuation on my part. This was fate. This was a soul connection. A week ago I'd have been determined to run from it, afraid I'd let this weakness cost my child, the same way Lienda's had. Now I wasn't so sure.

How could I ever deny him when everything in my body wanted him so badly? If it was only about me, I would not hesitate for a second to throw myself into everything he was. He was a male of worth. I knew that. Even if he'd made some really bad decisions. But I had to think about our daughter too. She deserved my full focus, especially while she was young.

I would bide my time and see how things eventuated, no rushing in.

All of my musings were cut off as Maximus sank to his knees at my side. He was so tall that even on his knees our heads were almost level with each other. "I died a thousand deaths in the past week. Every scar on your body. Every second of pain you endured." His head dropped as something akin to shame and anguish crumbled his broad features. "I have failed you as a lover, as a friend, as a father to our child, and as a true mate. The bond kicked in when I saved you, when I used my blood to try and slow the Lunarti oil. A bond I should have always known was there, and which is my greatest joy to receive."

I swallowed roughly. Already he was testing my resolve. His perfect words. His true sorrow. I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and touching his temple. His eyes shot up to clash with mine. "It's a girl, Max. We're having a daughter."

He froze, and then a single tear escaped from the corner of his dark eyes. I watched it trail down his face and fought the urge to lean in and catch it on my tongue. My wolf wanted me to do that, but the human side in me didn't understand. Maximus reached out and laid a gentle hand on my stomach, which seemed to have doubled in size in the past week.

"You have blessed me beyond reckoning. We'll be a family, Mischa. I can't lose you again." He took a deep breath. "I know you need time to learn to trust in us again. The true mate bond is not fully in place. I can't hear your thoughts yet, and I believe it's because you're not quite ready for the connection. I can wait as long as you need. Just know that even before this bond snapped into place, I already knew I couldn't live without you. I had already chosen you."

He'd finally said the words I'd been waiting months to hear. He chose me. My greatest wish. He was right though, there was much we needed to overcome.

"Max … " I started slowly, carefully choosing my words. "This bond brings me great joy, but also fear. I lost myself once to you, and it hurt people I love. Now I have a daughter to worry about. I can't lose myself again. But it's impossible to deny this thing between us. Maybe we should just start with rebuilding our friendship."

Some of the brown was bleeding back into his dark eyes, and I was confused for a second as a grin swept across his features. "Mischa Lebron, you and I are going to be best friends. But we're also going to be true mates and lovers. You can run from this as long as you need. I understand why you don't trust in us yet, but you will. I promise you that in the not very distant future you will be mine in every way."

A snort escaped me. "Arrogant much?"

He cocked his head to the side. "I like to think of it as confidence and trust in our bond. And you don't have to worry about our daughter. Together we'll keep her safe. She'll know more love than is possible to handle. No one will lay a hand on you or Agnes again."

I fully lost it then. Laughter busted from me in a torrent of mirth and I had to hold my stomach for fear that I would go into labor. Eventually I caught my breath. "We're not calling our daughter Agnes," I told the twinkly-eyed vampire.

"What about Mavis?  …  Cecile?" His cocky grin and dimples were on full display. "I've been looking into human names. They have some really fun ones."   





 

I shook my head, and even though I knew it was a bad idea I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. "Thank you for saving us. I'm really looking forward to the best friend thing."

And I was. Maximus was my family, and this felt right.

I heard him clear his throat as he wrapped me tightly in his arms, and before I could protest he rose to his feet, pulling me from the bed and into his arms, holding me so gently, my feet dangling inches from the ground.

With his warmth and scent engulfing me, everything from the past week crashed in on me. My chest got tight and the lump in my throat was choking me as I fought to control my emotions. Squeezing my eyes as tightly as I could, I tried to stem the rising tide, but tears still slipped out and ran down my cheeks with reckless abandon. Sobs were rising with them. I tried to stop them, but the moment Maximus sensed my tears and started whispering soothing and beautiful words to me, I completely lost it.

For the first time in my life, when I fell apart someone was there to catch me. It was the most incredible feeling ever. I'd never had that, never had support. I was not alone.

Finally his words turned desperate. "Mischa. Misch  …  please stop crying. I cannot stand to see you in so much pain. I will kill Kristoff when I find him. I'll make him suffer for every second of his time with you. He'll be praying for death before I'm finished with him."

Eventually my tears dried up, but I didn't let him go. I wanted a few more moments to enjoy the warmth of his huge frame as it wrapped around me. In the human world I'd never felt particularly small or delicate, but male supes had a way of making you feel positively petite.

Maximus' chest shook a little then and I felt his laughter. "How're you doing with the ‘just friends' thing? Because the line's getting a little blurry for me."

I could tell he was joking. Kind of.

Then, as he pulled back and lifted a hand to wipe away the last of the wetness on my cheeks, his smile fell. Something hot flickered across his face and flared to life in his eyes. I had a second to squeak before his lips crashed down onto mine, and then I was lost in the taste and scent of the vampire, lost in the male who should have been mine from the start but was cruelly stolen from me.